Merrigoround
by TwinKillerKads
Summary: Zuko and Katara struggle with their forbidden love as Katara is bethrothed to her rich, orphaned neighbor: Aang. Alternate Universe set in Old American West. It has romaaaaance...
1. The Letter

A/N

Plot from zukos-swig. Written by dream royale.

Characters belong to Avatar the Last Airbender, Nickelodeon Studios.

"No can say can here."

Please understand that "3" is a divider. At deviantART it is actually a heart with a "less than" symbol before the three.

3

Zuko wiped sweat from his brow, and he was conscious of the same salt mixture dripping down his spine and over his sculpted chest. He licked his lips in distaste. He hated the heat, and he especially loathed the dull ground he was repeatedly heaving his hoe into. The wood chaffed his palms, but he'd been working for so many weeks that his hands were calloused over, oblivious to the pain they could be having.

He leaned against the handle, inspecting the sky and hoping for a small amount of rain to delay the labor. Endless blue greeted his amber eyes, winking at him in azure spite.

"I'm taking a break for water," he mumbled to his companion.

Iroh lifted his grey head from his work. "Why don't you go and sit in the shade for awhile?"

Zuko eyed him skeptically. "And… where should I, Uncle?"

"Oh…" Iroh cast his eyes back to the earth. "Maybe in the garden…"

"You've set me up again!" Zuko cried.

"No, no-."

"Who will I find there, Uncle?" Zuko demanded.

"Listen, she is a nice girl, and-."

"No!" Zuko ground his jaw in frustration. "How many times have I told you that I don't like Jin?"

"Plenty. However, I think-."

"My answer is still _no_." Zuko walked away before the old man could pass any more remarks.

"I just wish you'd let go of her." Iroh said, leaving the name from the conversation purposefully. "It isn't good for you to keep on hoping for something that will never come. Just let her go and find someone else."

"I have let her go," Zuko muttered, more to himself than to his uncle. "I have let her go."

His thoughts drifted, and slowly the ground beneath him shifted in his reverie, becoming the soft, ruffling grass of his childhood memories.

He chased her over the knolls, watching in glee as her gleaming brown locks came closer and closer, her shrieks forming into giggles as he gained distance. Finally he tagged her, grasping her shoulder so firmly that they both toppled to the ground, breathless. Katara beamed at him. He grinned shyly at her. She reached out with one delicate hand and touched his nose.

"Tag," she whispered, her voice just as lofty as the wind.

Katara was his only anchor to sanity. His first year here had been so hard, so lonely. Everything he'd known and loved was gone, save for Iroh, that is. Before coming to Katara's father's ranch, Zuko had lived in Boston with his parents and sister. Eventually the attorney life grew too boring for Zuko's father, and he bought supplies to move his family out into the West to make a new, pioneering life. Zuko's mother had protested fiercely, but Ozai would not listen.

Things would have been alright, had Ozai not proclaimed he wanted to start gold mining.

"We will lose everything," Ursa tried to appeal to his reason. "We cannot-."

In a snarling fit of rage, Ozai swung back his hand and struck her face. The memory would never leave Zuko, and even now, at age sixteen, his blood ran cold.

That night Ursa stole everything she and her children needed to run. As she and Zuko were packing up one of the family's horses, Azula firmly announced that she would not partake in their escape.

"I want to stay with father," she said in a sharp voice. "And if you leave, I will tell him where you are."

Ursa stared down at her, realizing how much alike her husband and daughter were. "Do as you wish, Azula. It is your own life to live." She glanced at Zuko with shining eyes and asked, "And you, my son? Do you want to stay too?"

He shivered at the thought. "No, Mom. Please let me go with you."

She touched his head lovingly and smiled. Wordlessly, she swept him up into the saddle, and the pair took off, hoping to never have to see the other half of their bitter family again.

Ursa took work as a maid at an inn not too far away from where Ozai had proclaimed he'd strike it rich. She and Zuko lived comfortably in a corner room of the establishment, and for once, they were unrestricted. Both of them stayed awake until the twinkling stars outside blended into the streaks of dawn light, whispering their dreams and hopes and fears.

Zuko was only ten when the fire took the inn.

Sometimes Ursa worked late cleaning up the dining hall, and usually Zuko went with her to help, but some horrible twist of fate led him to bed early that night, and when he woke up a few hours later, he was met with a mixture of smoke and screams.

He struggled out of his room, blindly rushing down the choking hallways calling as best as he could to his mom. A doorway opened to his left, and a man pulled began to pull him away from the dining hall.

"Come on!" the man persisted. "Get out of here!"

"No!" Zuko shrieked, trying to pull himself away from the stranger, "Get off of me! My mom! My mom… She's in there!"

The older man gave Zuko one painful and hopeless glance before he muttered, "I'm sorry… I tried to save her, Zuko. She is gone."

Zuko froze, his mind tripping over the influx of information. He decided to stick with something simple, something his mind could cope with. "How do you know my name?"

"Let's get out of this building. It's collapsing."

"No," Zuko's heart stilled, and he stared forlornly down the hall. "Leave me with my mom. She's all I have."

"To save you was her dying wish!" The man bent on one knee, staring into the boy's earnest face. "The last thing she ever said in this world was 'save my son', and I intend on doing that!"

The man's face blurred in front of Zuko. "She left me." He gasped, choking on the smoke. "She left me."

"She couldn't help-."

"She left me!" Zuko screamed and finally tore away from the man, bolting down the enflamed hallway to where the dining room should have been.

A beam cracked and fell on the crazed boy, slashing his left cheek, leaving him scarred and totally, utterly alone.

The man who had saved Zuko and tried to save Ursa was named Iroh, and as Zuko discovered later, he was Ozai's brother that lived in an apartment just down from the inn. Apparently, Ozai had not agreed with Ursa's disobedience, and for that, as he told his brother, he would kill her and his son with arson. Iroh had done his best to save the woman and the child.

He had taken Zuko away, hiding him from Ozai, lest he choose to finish his revenge. Together they moved to the plains, where extensive ranches were being raised faster than farmhands could be found to tend them. They found Katara's father, Hagoda, and had stayed there ever since.

Zuko paused his distracted march to stare in the distance at the sprawling, whitewashed house the estate owner lived in. He sighed, reminding himself that a good life was over. He would live forever as a tenant. A scarred, lonely, disowned tenant.

He stooped to the water bucket, dipping the cup to scrape the bottom. Before it reached his lips, a shadow fell across his dirt-stained palms, and he met the owner with a narrowed-eyed stare.

"What?" Zuko spat.

Sokka frowned down at him, adjusting the cuffs of his sleeves with a pompous disdain. "You know I would never ask anything of you unless it couldn't be helped."

Zuko stood, towering over the other boy. "What do you want, Sokka?"

He handed him a thick envelope. "I need you to run this to the estate just south of here. Aire. You know the place?"

Zuko nodded, fingering the letter in his hand curiously.

"Good. Run it over there. Make sure it gets to Aang. Don't stop along the way." Sokka turned to leave, but he paused, inspecting Zuko's labored clothes. "And clean up a bit, will you? You look like a-."

"Like a worker?" Zuko challenged. "I've nothing besides these clothes-."

"Fine, then. Go into the house and find Katara. Tell her to get some of mine for you to wear."

Zuko swallowed uncomfortably. "But-."

"I said you _know_ I would never ask you unless it couldn't be helped." Sokka flashed a warning glare. "And don't be too friendly with Katara."

"Only if it can't be helped." Zuko mocked, returning a half-hearted grin. He watched Sokka hurry to the stables before his grin slipped into a grimace.

He hadn't spoken to Katara for almost a year.

3

Toph picked up a rock and threw it at a cherry tree, effectively knocking a clump of leaves to the ground.

"How many?" she asked.

"Five," Katara answered absently, tugging at the lace around her waist.

"You didn't even count." Toph scowled. "Are you going to watch me or are you going to mope?"

Katara scoffed. "I've every right to 'mope', I'll have you know."

Toph waved an empty hand. "Betrothal isn't a big deal. Now pay attention this time."

"Do you even know who I'm betrothed to, Toph?" Katara continued bitterly. "That Aire boy-."

Toph froze mid-launch. "Aang? You're getting married to Aang? But he's-."

"Twelve!" Katara exclaimed. "I can't believe Dad would want me to marry him."

A servant girl walked briskly down the path, pausing where Katara and Toph sat. She nodded respectfully to them both. "Excuse me, but have you seen anyone else in the garden today?"

Katara shrugged. "Sorry, Jin. We haven't seen anyone. Who are you looking for?"

"He works in the fields, and I thought he'd be coming for lunch…" Jin looked around the area unsuccessfully. "He's a little taller than I am…. Black hair…Well, maybe you know him; I'm looking for Zuko."

Katara started and avoided her gaze immediately. "Um… no, I haven't seen him."

"Well, if you do, will you tell him I've been waiting?" Jin asked kindly.

"Sure," Toph acknowledged, "We'll let him know."

Jin nodded again to them before walking back the way she had come.

"Shall I hit her? Or would you like to?" Toph muttered.

"No one will hit anyone." Katara admonished. She sighed. "It's his choice to see whoever he'd like to see."

"Hmph. That's bull-… Hey, someone's coming from the other direction…. He's a littler taller than Jin…." Toph grinned. "Wonder who that could be?"

Katara groaned and cradled her forehead in her hands. "Oh, just kill me."

Zuko stopped awkwardly before the two well-dressed girls and finally cleared his throat when no one looked up.

Katara raised her eyes uncertainly. "Jin's looking for you."

Zuko furrowed his brow. "I wasn't looking for _her_… I was looking for _you_."

Katara's face glowed pink. "Oh."

"I think I hear someone calling my name." Toph cocked her head to one side. "Nice seeing you again, Zuzu." She trotted away, enjoying the small bit of torture Katara was swimming through.

He clenched his jaw and muttered the same. Katara still hadn't looked into his face.

"Well… What…. do you require?" Katara asked, concentrating on smoothing a fold in her cerulean skirt.

"Your brother asked me to deliver a letter." Zuko waved the object for proof. "And he said I should change into some of his clothes. He…" Zuko flushed slightly. "suggested I find you to help me."

Katara found his eyes finally, but he rather wished she hadn't. There was a buried pain there, almost akin to the one he carried around behind his own set of eyes. "What letter?"

He flashed it again. Her face fell.

"That one." She muttered.

"Do you know what it is?" He asked.

"Do you?"

"No."

"Then you don't need to know." She replied haughtily. "Come on. I'll get you dressed."

She stood briskly and marched down the lane, churning dry leaves in her wake. Zuko followed hesitantly.

"He said it goes to Aire…" He called. "There's only one person I know from there." He had a guess what it was for. He could only imagine why they would send a letter to Aang.

Katara stopped and spun on her heel to face him. "Yes."

Zuko closed the distance between them, so that her trapped eyes were forced to rivet on his face. "What have you to say to Aang?"

Shining, unshed tears formed in Katara's lower eyelids. "I've nothing to say to him, Zuko… Now, please follow me so I can get you dressed."

He trailed her into the cool house, up the winding staircase to Sokka's large and plush room. Furs lined every inch of floor and seat. Various weapons were strung on one wall, and a large window opened up onto the fields. Katara waited until Zuko was done gawking before she opened up her brother's bureau and began to sort through it.

Zuko watched her tense back, pity welling in him. "If I'm correct in my guess as to what's in this letter… then I'm sorry, Katara."

Her hands paused their flurry. "I don't want your sympathy."

Zuko flinched. "I believe that's what I said to you a long time ago, isn't it?"

"Maybe in both instances it was right to be said."

"Well… whether you want it or not, you have my sympathy." Zuko frowned and sank into an armchair. "What do you think of such a proposal?"

"It's _not_ a proposal. It's an_ arrangement_."

"What do you think of it?"

"I don't think anything of it, Zuko! I can't think anything of it." She stopped attempting to search and stared at him. "Why is it you want to be chatty all of a sudden? After all this time, you expect me to just be friends with you?"

"I thought it was for the best that we separate." Zuko argued. "After all, it's not as if… We can't…"

Katara rolled her eyes. "This is the part where you say, 'It isn't possible, Katara. We have to stop dreaming.' Look, I get it, okay?"

"No," he narrowed his eyes. "I don't think you do."

"Oh yes," she flung a random pair of pants onto the floor. "I understand it perfectly."

"Oh?"

"You've…." She tugged on a shirt, stuck in a door of the bureau. "You've got a thing for someone… else… now..." She gave one final pull on the shirt before the sleeve ripped off, sending her flying onto her backside.

Zuko jumped out of his seat to help her. "That's insane, Katara! I'm not interested in anyone else!" He grasped her arm and pulled her to her feet. They stayed awkwardly close before she jerked away.

"Oh. Sure. And you and Jin just have lunch-."

"Uncle sets that up! You should know better." Zuko scowled.

She glared sternly at him for a few more moments before brandishing the sleeve and proclaiming, "Here's your outfit."

Zuko lifted an eyebrow. "Was that supposed to be facetious?"

"Oh, yes, I'm in such a joking mood." Katara sighed, rubbing her temple with her free hand. "Zuko… Just please take the letter to Aire, and forget about it, okay? We're… we're done."

She brushed past him, but he grabbed her hand involuntarily, releasing it almost as soon as he had touched her soft skin. She swirled around to face him, confused. He flushed.

"I… think about you… a lot…"

"Thinking isn't action, Zuko." Katara mumbled before she rushed away.

3

The walk to Aire was unbearably hot and sticky, but luckily enough for Zuko, the family had let him borrow a horse to run his errand. The little stable boy, Li, who had handed him the huge brown stallion, had said proudly, "We call this one Komodo!"

Zuko spurred Komodo faster. Against his will, he was very anxious to meet this boy Katara was supposed to marry.

Aire was a bigger estate than Katara's family's. It was also more lavishly landscaped, and there was so much shade that it made Zuko ache for a few more minutes to nap in the cool. Before he could even glimpse the house through the trees, a small boy and a little cream-colored dog dashed in front of Zuko, making his horse reel back and threaten to knock him out of his saddle.

"Hey!" Zuko shouted. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Sorry!" The boy exclaimed, grabbing Komodo's reins and shushing him into calm. "My dog… Momo… He took off with my apple, and I had to get it back… Say, you aren't from around here, are you?"

"I'm from an estate just north of here." Zuko frowned. "What's your name?"

"I'm Aang." The boy grinned.

Zuko's frown deepened into a scowl. "You're Aang?"

"Sure am! And this," he scooped his dog off of the ground. "is Momo."

Zuko grunted, examining the frail canopy of leaves above their heads. "This has to be a joke…"

"Nope! When I tell a joke, I'm usually laughing, but I'm being serious this time. What's your name?"

"Look…" Zuko subconsciously touched the letter in his breast pocket. "I…think I made a wrong turn…"

"Where are you headed?"

"That's not necessarily the problem… It's who I'm meeting there."

"Oh. Who are you meeting?"

"You ask a lot of questions."

"Yeah, that's what people say. So who are you looking for?"

"Someone older than you, and someone-."

"I knew I couldn't trust you." Sokka said snidely from behind him.

Zuko twisted in his saddle, staring at the other, on his horse, at his rear. "When did you get here?"

"Well, after I found Katara sobbing in her room, I came after you, and what do you know?" Sokka rode forward, snatching the letter from Zuko's pocket. "You failed both me and my father. I should have you fired."

Zuko shifted uncomfortably. "You can't give your little sister's livelihood to this little… child, can you?"

"It's not my decision." Sokka snapped. "I trust my father's opinion, and so should you… Aang, this is for you."

Aang took the letter wearily. "If it would really bother you all that much, I won't read it."

"No, please, take it." Sokka said warmly. "I think you'll like it. And we'd like to have you at our house for supper this evening, Aang, if that sounds alright."

"Really? That'd be great." Aang beamed.

Zuko flashed a pained expression towards Sokka. "Really… do you have to do this?"

"Don't question me again." Sokka replied sharply. "And stay away from the house. Katara doesn't need any more of you." He flipped the reins of his horse and trotted back down the lane.

Zuko ground his teeth as he watched him go. He glanced at Aang.

"I'm…getting married?" Aang gasped, eyes flicking over the letter. "I'm getting married! To Katara!" He cheered and raced to his house, the dog trailing pathetically behind him and yipping his own excitement.

Zuko groaned. There was nothing he could do now.


	2. Unlucky Number

Zuko stared defiantly into the soup being ladled into his bowl.

"Eat," Iroh pressed. "An empty stomach does nothing for sadness."

"I'm not _sad_, Uncle. I'm angry."

"Well," Iroh handed him a spoon, "Being hungry doesn't help anger, either. Why don't you have some soup and then we can talk?"

Zuko pushed the bowl away. "I'm not in the mood. I'm going for a walk."

"Running away from your problems-."

"Won't solve anything," Zuko finished bitterly. "I _know_, Uncle."

He pushed the door open and nearly ran into the grinning face in front of him. He groaned inwardly.

"Hello, Jin."

"Hi, Zuko! I looked everywhere for you this afternoon."

"I was busy."

"What were ya doin'?"

"Errands."  
"Going for a walk?"

"Yes."

"Can I come with you?"

"It's an errand-walk."

"Oh. Well, hey, I was wondering if you were doing anything tonight."

Zuko chewed the inside of his cheek as the moment waited impatiently for his reply. Honesty finally kicked him in his rear hard enough that he opened his mouth.

"No."

"Would you like to go to the fair with me tonight?"

He desperately wanted to run away, far from this girl. "That's fine."

"We'll meet here at eight o'clock, then?"  
He must've nodded, because she grinned again and scuffled away, leaving him dumbstruck on his porch.

"So…" Iroh called through the open doorway. "Going out with Jin tonight, then, hm?"

Zuko refused to answer, and he shut the door and stalked away.

3

"If you see Zuko again, let me know." Sokka said authoritatively as he straightened his hair in his mirror.

Katara dangled her legs over the side of his bed, looking forlornly at the ceiling. "He didn't make me cry, you know."

"It was just coincidence that he happened to be in the room when you started to cry, then?"

"No… Why don't you just let me have my own business? I can take care of myself, and there was no reason for you to berate Zuko like that."

"Katara, you're a child-."  
"An engaged one!" She snapped. "Do children get married, Sokka?"  
He swiveled from his mirror to look at her. "Katara…"

She waved her hand, dismissing any answer he might give. She heaved a sigh. "Well. What is he like?"

"Your fiancé?" Sokka scratched his jaw nervously. "He's nice."

"I describe the weather as nice," Katara pouted. "Not people. Really, what is he like?"

"He's got a lot of energy." Sokka attempted a smile. "You two will have a lot of fun together."

She huffed and stood up, disappointed. "He's just a little boy, isn't he?"

"You worry too much." Sokka said absently. "Everything will be fine."

3

Zuko had to wonder if maybe he just worried too much. Marriages were arranged all the time, and most of them turned out just fine.

Like his father's marriage with his mother…

Zuko's step faltered. He had almost forgotten that they had been set-up by their parents. Shaking his head, he continued his sulking pace down the empty field.

No one worked around supper time, when the sun dipped its blazing face into the edge of the horizon and peeked out at the clouds, making them flush crimson and purple. The normally buzzing fields were devoid of population, which was why he spent time in the fields at this time. He relished the solitude.

A flash of pink on the ground caught his eye, and as he examined the ground closer, he found a defiant patch of wildflower that had avoided the workers' hoes and managed to push beautiful blossoms into the prairie air. Zuko knelt and gingerly touched the petals with his index finger. He smiled faintly.

Maybe there was something he could do.

3

Zuko wasn't surprised to see a strange horse in front of the house, and upon its massive back sat a little, grinning boy, waving ecstatically at Zuko as he approached.

"Hi!" Aang said jovially. "Do you remember me?"

Zuko clutched the bunch of wildflowers in his hands as if Aang might take them from him. "Yes, I remember you."

"I'm here to have dinner with Katara's family." Aang climbed down from his horse and patted his flank. "Would you like to meet my horse?"

Zuko appraised the animal with hooded eyes. Both shifted their feet and hooves and made a small, collective grunt.

Aang grinned. "This is Appa. Appa, this is…Say, what is your name?"

There was a bouquet of roses in Aang's left hand, a huge and striking red cluster of the richest roses Zuko had ever seen.

He swallowed uncomfortably. "My name's Zuko."

"Well, it's nice to meet you. What have you got there? Those are some nice flowers!"

"Just weeds," Zuko casually dropped them to the ground. "Just some weeds. I forgot: I need to go help my uncle with dinner."

"Oh, okay. Nice seeing you again!"

Zuko shrugged and swirled away, cheeks burning with a newfound shame as he stomped back to his house.

3

Katara's bottom lip was almost bleeding from her ravage biting. She couldn't stand the tension in the hall as the house waited for the new fiancé to arrive, and Sokka's profuse and empty chatter didn't make it any better.

"The joke isn't funny, Sokka." Katara snapped, flipping her fan open and swishing stale air onto her flushed face.

"I thought it was!" He chuckled, wiping little tears of mirth from his eyes. "You're just nervous, that's all."

"He's here!" Kana announced from her post by the front window. "And he has a very large horse…"

"Well, you know what they say, size doesn't matter." Sokka noted, hiding a snort behind his fist.

Katara threw him a glare. "I hope you make a complete idiot of yourself tonight, you big ugly buffoon."

"Hey!" He protested.

"Hush, hush," Kana said briskly. "Let Katara's betrothed in now, please."

Katara cringed.

"Hi, everyone! I'm Aang!" The boy beamed from the doorway.

If she had been a weaker type, she would have fainted.

3

"And one time, when she was five, she licked the ground because I bet her to!" Sokka guffawed at his narration. "She always was pretty gullible."

Katara stared off into space as her brother nudged her, asking if she agreed.

"Well, she's pretty beautiful, too." Aang blushed.

She bit her tongue. 'That's right,' she thought, 'just discuss me as if I'm not here, you little tyke.'

"Dinner's ready now," a servant announced, leading the party into the dining room.

Just as everyone picked their seats and prepared to sit down, Kana shouted, "Stop! No one sit down!"

Everyone groaned.

"What is it, Gran Gran?" Sokka asked lamely.

"There are thirteen guests at our table tonight."

"That's an unlucky number," Aang acknowledged quietly.

"We need another occupant, or else one of us must go away."

"But we're having steak," Sokka whined. "No one wants to miss out on that!"

Katara's heart skipped a beat as an idea struck her. "I know of someone we can invite."


	3. Closed Doors

Katara admitted to herself silently that she hadn't walked this path for a few years, but her feet walked it as if it had been only yesterday since she visited Zuko at his small house. Kana had almost forced Katara to send a servant to invite Zuko to dinner, yet Katara knew that he would refuse if he wasn't asked by her and her alone. So here she was, lifting her petticoats from the dust and wishing she had thought of another plan.

His house was smaller than she remembered. Her eyes lost themselves in the pattern of knots in the wooden planks of the door.

What was she doing? Didn't she just spend the morning shaking him away?

She turned her back to the door and swirled to face the rest of the little shacks on the lane.

Maybe what she was doing was her way of apologizing to him, she reasoned. And really, who else was there to eat dinner with them? Zuko was a good choice. He was quiet and unobtrusive, but he could also hold a decent small-talk conversation. Well… decent enough, that is.

What would she say exactly? 'Sorry to bother you, but would you like some steak?' 'I volunteered you to eat dinner with my fiancé.' 'I know I seemed like I was angry with you earlier- maybe I am. But I would like it if you…'

Katara sighed. Perhaps she should invite someone else. Was it too late to ask Toph?

"What are you doing?"

Katara started and pulled her mental grip from her ponderings. "Zuko! Well, I… Well… What are _you_ doing?"

He knocked some dirt from his shoes on the bottom step of his stoop and frowned at his toes. "I live here, Katara."

"Yes," she wrung her hands nervously. "I know that, but I meant… That is to say…"

"How do you like your new husband?" He asked dryly, catching her eyes.

She stumbled over her words. "He's… small- fine. He's fine. He is… He's cute. But I didn't come here to discuss him."

"Hm." Zuko glanced at his house behind Katara. "Can you come to a point soon?"

'Manners!' Katara chided herself. "Are you hungry at all, Zuko?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"I'm curious."

"I suppose I am."

"Well, we're having a very big and lovely dinner up at the house if you'd care to join us." Katara's voice lilted involuntarily. "Steak and potatoes and-."

"And your betrothed." Zuko crossed his arms. "What's your game, Katara?"

"There doesn't have to be a game!" Katara huffed. "Listen, we have thirteen people at the table, and Gran Gran won't sit down unless we have a different number, and you were my only option!"

"Ah," Zuko spat, "I see. I'm a last resort for you?"

Katara gaped, horrified at herself. "N-no! You were my first thought! I wouldn't want to ask anyone else-."

"I get it, okay?" Zuko attempted to push around her to his door.

She flattened herself childishly against it, preventing him from getting away. "Zuko, I'm sorry."

His lip curled. "You've always spoken before you thought. It's something I'm used to by now."

"Not just… that." Katara had a hard time looking him in the eye, with him so close. He, on the other hand, pinned her with his gaze. "I'm sorry I was… unwilling to listen earlier… I want us to be friends again, Zuko."

He studied her earnest face for a few moments before answering. "Can I be frank with you?"

She nodded.

"You're getting married."

She shook her head. "Yes, but… That doesn't mean we can't be friends!"

"No, it does." He moved her shoulders forcefully away from his door. "I feel too strongly about you."

A small gasp escaped her as he shut the door in her face. She rapped her knuckles on it immediately. "Zuko! Zuko, please!"

The door cracked open, and a reluctant Zuko peered out at her. "Uncle is sleeping, Katara. What do you want?"

"Just… just eat dinner with us, please," her palm pushed against the door as if to stop it from swinging shut again. "I swear, after tonight, you don't have to look at me again… It would mean a lot to me if you came to dinner."

He scoffed. "Are you that superstitious?"

"No. I want to spend at least one more night with you, Zuko." Katara dropped her eyes again. "I want us to be like we used to be."

Silence pushed its way between the two, stretching out the moment to the breaking point, and the answer faded into the wind. Quietly, Zuko shut the door for the last time.

3

Katara had to stand in the middle of the lane for quite some time, away from Zuko's house but not too close to her own. Her mind reeled. Violence attempted to seduce her into kicking, punching, hitting anything, and her limbs shook from the effort of keeping still. Tears burned the back of her eyeballs, threatening to turn her into a sobbing mess right there in the vacant lane. She took a few breaths through her teeth.

Katara had to wonder if maybe she just worried too much. Marriages were arranged all the time, and most of them turned out just fine. Besides, there was nothing she could do. Aang was waiting at the house, and Zuko wasn't coming with her.

"Katara,"

She swirled to face the speaker. "Zuko," she breathed.

He stopped a few feet from her. "You might just be the most confusing girl I've ever met."

She smiled fondly at him. "How many girls have you met in your life, Zuko?"

"Enough to know that you're the only one for me."

Katara blushed and twisted her skirt in her hands. "Why did you stop speaking to me? I spent months crying myself to sleep. I…" She glanced away. "I missed you."

Out of impulse, he grabbed her hand and held it firmly in his own. "I'm so sorry, Katara. If I could go back in time-."

"But you can't. What's done is done."

He sighed. "I want to make things better now. I agree with what you said earlier. I want us to be close again, even if this is one of the last nights I can tell you that I love you." His grip on her fingers tightened. "And I do love you, Katara."

"Would it be wrong if I said I loved you too?" She murmured. "I shouldn't feel that way. I'm spoken for."

"I won't tell." Zuko smiled softly. "I'll keep it between us."

The amber sparkle in his eyes almost tugged her closer to him, but she pulled herself together before she could get lost. She attempted to forget how badly she wanted to be lost with him.

"They'll be wondering where we are," she spoke quickly. "We should go before they send a search party."

Zuko released her hand to take her arm. "I'm glad to see you again, Katara."

"I only wish this could last longer." She whispered.


	4. Awkward Juice

After several awkward moments of debate with herself on the porch, Katara finally settled on allowing Zuko to hold her arm as they entered the house. If he was nervous, he didn't show it. Katara shuffled them into the dining room, where a crowd of her relations gaped at them from around the table.

"Um… Entire family, Zuko. Zuko, entire family. He's here to eat dinner with us tonight."

"Cozy," Sokka grumbled.

"Good," Kana sighed. "Now I want everyone seated. The food's getting cold. Zuko, you sit over there next to Master Aang. Everyone settled? Then, sit."

"Hi there!" Aang chimed as soon as Zuko took his seat next to him. "Nice to see you again!"

"Grand." Zuko muttered, avoiding his eyes.

"You've met?" Katara frowned.

"Sure! He's the one that delivered the letter telling me we were betrothed." Aang beamed. "And we met here before I came into the house. I introduced him to Appa, and he knows Momo too."

"Who're they?" Sokka asked around a mouthful of food.

"My horse and dog. You should meet Appa before I leave, Katara."

She started, pulled from her concentration on Zuko's face. "Of course."

"Actually," Aang shifted in his seat. "I was also wondering… Would you be interested in going to the fair with me?"

"The fair?" Zuko repeated in disbelief.

"The fair? Umm…" Katara twisted the napkin in her lap. "I… don't know. I'm not sure if Gran-Gran-."

"You aren't busy tonight, Katara. You should go out." Kana butted in.

"It'll be fun." Aang assured her. "It's always fun."

A pit formed in Zuko's stomach. "You're going tonight?" He'd almost forgotten about his 'date' with Jin.

"If that's alright with Katara," Aang said meekly.

She glanced at Zuko questioningly. "That's fine."

Conversation after that slowed down as the chatty Aire boy stuffed his face full of food. The household was quiet enough as it was, but they were especially so when they were hosting.

"This is excellent food," Zuko said hollowly. His plate had hardly been touched. "Thank you for inviting me."

"Any friend of Katara's is a friend of ours." Bato answered.

Zuko's face darkened. He grabbed Katara's attention for half a moment, and they frowned simultaneously.

Sokka belched. "So what kinda food are we gonna have at the wedding?"

Katara gasped. "Sokka! Please, can you keep your mind off of food for one second?"

"Look, I'm a man, and we men need to eat, and if we don't eat, bad things happen. So let's make sure no bad things happen and-."

"I don't think she's comfortable discussing the wedding, Sokka." Zuko cut in coldly. "After all, it's not for awhile yet."

Awkward silence smothered the table's occupants.

Finally, Katara's soft voice piped up. "He's right. It is a long way away. We've got plenty of time to plan."

"It was my understanding that your father wanted you to be married as soon as possible." Kana argued. "I'll have to write him back, but if I know him, then that's the way he wants things."

"We'll make sure you have a lovely wedding, Katara." Bato said.

"Yeah, you can pick out all the flowers and the cake and everything!" Aang exclaimed.

Her jaw dropped slightly. "I… That's…" She looked across the table again and caught Zuko's forlorn stare. Her throat constricted, and unwelcome tears stung the back of her eyes. She stood abruptly. "Excuse me."

"Katara!" Sokka called after her. He rounded on Zuko as soon as she had run out of ear shot. "I blame you. You get her riled up over nothing."

"It isn't _nothing_." Zuko shot back. "This will change her life forever, and you're talking about food!"

"Don't blame me in my own house." Sokka snarled. "And besides, _you're_ defending her? Wasn't it you that ignored her the past year? Do you know how many times I walked into her room with her crying on the floor-."

"You made her cry?" Aang queried.

"I'm leaving." Zuko threw his napkin into his plate. "Thank you for-."

"You were our last option." Sokka snapped. "It's not like we had a choice in having you here."

"Sokka," Bato said warningly.

"Get out of my house!" Sokka ordered, pointing a savage finger towards the door.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Zuko retorted.

He stormed out of the dining room and made a point to slam the front door of the house on his way out.

"Stupid, uncaring, inconsiderate…" He kicked a clod of dirt, and it landed beside the still, giant horse Appa. Zuko marched up to it and stared it in the eye. "You tell your master that he doesn't deserve a girl like Katara. You tell him that he should just leave her alone. He's too young, and he doesn't even know her. Tell him-."

Appa snorted and shook his massive mane. Zuko dodged his kicking feet.

"Tell him that!" Zuko shouted again.


	5. The Merrigoround

"Are you excited?" Iroh tugged Zuko's collar. "This is your big night."

Zuko scoffed. "This isn't a date. This was an obligatory 'if I go out once with her, she'll leave me alone' thing. And would you quit messing with my clothes? They're fine!"

"You look like a farm boy."

"Well, guess what. I am a farmhand, Uncle. I'm supposed to look like this." He glanced at the wall clock in their kitchen. "Ugh. She's late."  
"Give her time. It's only five past-." A knock on the door cut him off, and Iroh smiled broadly, as if the girl waiting outside was there for him. "Should I answer it?"

Zuko sighed and pulled the door open himself.

"Wow! You look nice!" Jin exclaimed.

"Um… Thanks. You too. Bye, Uncle. We'll be back later."

Jin latched onto his arm instantly. "So what're your favorite rides?"

"I don't have any particular favorites."

"Oh, really? Well, I love all the dances. They are so adorable, don't you think?"

"I guess so, yes."

"Have you been to many fairs?"

"Two or three."

"Any with girls?"

"This would be the first."

The rest of their walk passed in this fashion. Jin asked questions, and Zuko answered shortly, his mind adrift. Finally, across the flat plains they could see the multi-colored winking lights of the fair, soft and hazy in the distance. When the fair music hit their ears, Jin's conversation tripled in speed. Zuko's conversation slackened thrice as well.

"First thing we should do are the games. They are so much fun! Maybe we'll win something. One time my brother won a whole sack of sugar!"

"Hm." Zuko answered.

"Have you ever won anything?"

"No."

"Well, maybe I'll be your lucky charm, and you'll win something. Look! There's the pin game. Let's play!"

Zuko allowed himself to be tugged along, all the while keeping an eye on the crowds to watch for Katara or her little fiancé.

Jin watched Zuko play pins. He lost seven times before she finally declared the game rigged. Zuko insisted she try it. Jin won the first round and awarded her corn husk doll to her date.

"Oooh. Let's ride the carrousel!" Jin cried.

"I have motion sickness." Zuko lied. "Why don't you ride it, and I'll wait for you?"

"Are you sure? I don't want to leave you out."

"I'm fine. I'll be right here when you're done."

Without a second thought, Jin jumped onto the nearest white wooden pony and waved at him. Zuko gave a half-hearted smile in return. Tinkly, hollow music brought the merrigoround to life, whirling its passengers in a twinkling parade. Zuko watched his date go around twice before he finally allowed the crowd to filter around him, severing him from view of the carrousel.

He walked back a few steps and slumped onto a bench. He couldn't believe his luck. How much worse could things get, anyway?

"Zuko?"

He sat up abruptly. "Katara?"

She and her short fiancé drifted in front of the bench. He had a hold of her arm, and she looked a little less than pleased about it.

"You look nice," Zuko breathed.

She blushed. "Thanks."

"Yeah, I thought so, too." Aang added, just to be sure he wasn't lost in the conversation. "So, uh… Nice time at the fair?"

"There you are!" Jin flounced up to the group. "Oh, Katara! How are you?"

"Fine." Her gaze flickered anxiously between the girl and Zuko. "And yourself?"

"Marvelous! I just rode the Merrigoround. Zuko wouldn't go with me."

"You're here together?" Katara asked.

Zuko found sudden interest elsewhere. "Well, we should go."

"You're such a party-pooper. Let's all four of us ride something! Do you guys mind?"

Aang and Katara methodically shook their heads.

"How about the Ferris Wheel?" Aang offered, pointing to their left. "That's one of my favorites."

"Me too! What else do you like?" Jin and Aang struck up a bubbly conversation, leaving Katara and Zuko to mutter to each other behind their dates.

"Jin?" Katara demanded.

"It was a pity date! I thought if I went with her, then she'd leave me alone."

"She's been crushing on you for months, though! She's not just going to leave you like that."

"How do you know that?"

"How do you _not_ know that? Honestly, Zuko. It's obvious."

He nodded moodily and averted his eyes.

"So… Was it coincidence that you're here or…?"

"We had it planned beforehand."

"Oh." She sounded disappointed.

"Though it is nice to see you, Katara."

They glanced at each other and exchanged grins.

"Come on, you two! There's a big crowd going to the-."

A mob of small girls cut Jin off mid-sentence. They swarmed into the line behind Aang and Jin. Desperately, Zuko waved them on.

"Go ahead. We'll get on behind you!"

Aang and Jin agreed with his suggestion and climbed into a Ferris Wheel car together.

Katara chuckled under her breath. "I can't believe that worked."

Hidden by the crowd, Zuko reached out and grasped her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. She tightened her grip.

"You don't have to marry him." Zuko mumbled.

"I wish that were true."

"What's making you?"

"I respect my father, Zuko. If I refused to marry Aang…. I just can't do that."

"He's doing it for land, Katara. If he marries you, then your father gets to share both your estate and Aang's. Aang's the sole heir of-."

"Well, even if he is doing that, then what am I supposed to do? Disobey my father?"

"For the sake of your own happiness, yes!"

"You can't understand this because you never had a father." Katara said sharply. "But think about it as if your uncle asked you to marry Jin-."

"I'd refuse. I don't love her."

"Even if that meant a better life for the rest of your family?"

"My uncle wouldn't ruin my life like that."

"It won't be that bad." Katara's voice sounded unconvincing.

The line had moved up far enough that it was their turn to take a seat in a car. They dropped hands in case Aang or Jin saw.

"He's twelve." Zuko said bitterly as the bar closed over their laps and they left the ground.

"He cares about me."

"He doesn't know you."

"We'll know each other in time."

Zuko sighed. "This is a mistake."

"There's nothing you can do about it, so you should stop worrying. Let's talk about something else."

"Fine."

They sat in silence for a few moments. Then Zuko proclaimed, "There's nothing else to talk about. Katara, listen. What if you ran away with me?"

Her mouth slackened in surprise; she only gaped at him.

"I know it sounds crazy, but…. We could go to the East Coast and make a new life. Both of us are unhappy where we are, anyway. Neither of us has much of a future, but out East we could live however we wanted to! I've got a bit of money saved up, so we could-."

"Zuko, stop. Just…stop." She rubbed her eyes with her knuckles. "You know that's ridiculous."

"Why not, Katara? For once, we could be happy. We could do what we wanted."

"How could you leave your uncle? And I know I could never abandon my family like that."

"Why? They don't care, Katara! If they cared, then they wouldn't want you to marry Aang in the first place."

She fell silent. His argument was infallible on that point.

"And for my uncle, he would understand. I know he would. And we'd come back after awhile to see them, or we could write them letters."

"No, Zuko." Her eyes were studded with tears. "We can't do that. As… wonderful… as that sounds, it's wrong."

"Katara!" Aang waved at her from a few places above.

She returned a dim smile.

"Why did you stop talking to me?" Katara asked Zuko.

"I thought it would be easier for us." He answered darkly. "I thought if we didn't see each other so much we could fall out of love."

"But why would you want that to happen?"

"We could never be together, Katara. You knew that."

"I never fell out of love with you." She resisted the urge to take his hand.

"It didn't work with me either."

For the remainder of the ride, they turned to face each other and pretended to talk lightly about the fair, the weather, and any other innocent thing that would prevent them from getting back to Zuko's plan. Eventually disembarked and joined their dates at the bottom.

"Well, that was fun." Katara said. "What do you guys want to do next?"

"I wanna ride the bumper cars!" Aang exclaimed.

"Ooo! Those are the best!" Jin agreed.

"I get motion sickness." Katara said apologetically. "I'll just wait while you guys ride."

"And I'm getting kind of hungry. I think I'll go grab a snack." Zuko hinted.

"Yeah, me too." Katara chimed. "Why don't we go get us all some food, and you two can go ride the bumper cars."

Aang shrugged. "Okay! Can you get me a carmel apple?"

"And can I have a funnel cake?" Jin asked.

"Of course." Katara replied. "Take your time!"

The other two bounded off in the direction of the bumper cars. Again, Zuko and Katara sighed with relief.

"You're good at this." Katara winked at him.

"I'm a great schemer when I'm motivated."

She laughed. "You know, I hope we don't get lost on our way back from the snack stands."

"Mm," Zuko took her arm again. "I hear it's pretty hard to find carmel apples around here."

"Really? Well, we want to be sure Aang gets one, so we should take however much time necessary to find it."

"Absolutely."


End file.
